The Power of a Journal

I received my first journal as a gift from my sweet mother on my 8th birthday.

It ranks up there as one of the top 5 best gifts I have ever received. Though I didn’t realize the value of keeping a journal at that young age, I have since filled more than 18 volumes, as shown in the picture below.

(Note: my 1st journal is the little red one on the right, third from the top)

The funny thing is that it took me nearly TEN YEARS to fill up that little red journal. I was almost 18 years old at that time. I was laying the foundation for a future habit that would empower and enrich my life.

The other 17+ volumes were written between the age of 18 and 33, so I managed to fill up an average of 1.1 journals a year over the last 15 years.

Flashback: A glimpse into my mind 25 years ago (click image to enlarge)

Here is an excerpt from one of my first journal entries at age eight. My handwriting, spelling and depth of thought was on par for me at that age. The first day of school was significant enough to inspire a short entry. The next time I would crack the journal open wouldn’t be until two years later!

An example of a recent entry (click image to enlarge)

Here is a very recent excerpt from the journal I am currently working in. Fortunately, my handwriting has improved somewhat, thanks to ongoing practice, and my thoughts are slightly more meaningful than they were 25 years ago when I first started cultivating a journal writing habit.

My current entries span a variety of subjects and it really just depends on my mood that day, what I happen to be doing and the various personal development content that I am going through. In the past I primarily used my journal to record my thoughts, feelings and experiences, with the expectation that those things would be of some interest to my children and grandchildren at a future date.

A shift of focus; a change of intent

While I still write about those things to a certain extent, I have shifted a lot of my journal entries to a more practical, hands-on, day-to-day application approach. Now my journal serves as my “workbook for life”. It is where I can hash out ideas, answer questions that appear in books I am reading, take notes from spiritual or intellectual conferences and explore new business ideas or goals for the future.

Your journal; Your journey

The beautiful thing about your journal is that it is just that: yours.

As such, you should use it in whatever ways serve you best and that provide you with the most benefit and personal fulfillment. If keeping a journal is something you despise or simply cannot see yourself doing then find another method for personal expression, creativity and planning.

However, if you haven’t ever given a journal or notebook a fair chance in your life, then you should at least complete the following experiment.

“The 7 x 7 Experiment”

It is simply this:

1. Get a journal or a notebook; something tangible that you can write in.
2. Write in it at least once a day for 7 minutes. You can write about anything you want. You can even just doodle and draw pictures or designs if that is all you want to do with it.
3. Write in it 7 days in a row.
4. After completing the journal entries, sit down and read through what you wrote.
5. Ask yourself this question, and write the answer in your journal, of course: “Would I derive any benefits by continuing with this journaling practice, and if so, what would those benefits likely be?”
6. After writing down your answer(s) make a decision as to whether or not you will continue keeping a journal.
7. Share the results of your experiment by posting a comment below this article.

What power?

In the title I referred to the “power” of journal writing. What do I mean by that?

For me, I do experience a feeling of personal power, fulfillment, growth and development when I consistently write in my journal. I believe this is due to the fact that it requires me to think about my life; to review the past, to consider the present and to prepare for the future.

It is even relaxing and therapeutic for me because I am able to fully and freely express my thoughts, feelings, dreams and ambitions without any concern for what someone else will think about them. Doing so helps me to validate great plans and ideas and to more easily disregard those that are unlikely to be in my best interest.

Since we tend to write much slower than we can think or talk, the very act of doing so causes us to give greater thought and reflection to those things which we choose to write about in our journal. This is especially true when writing by hand.

Some people prefer to keep a journal on their computer so they can type it out. While I am a big fan of typing and quickly transferring thoughts and ideas into a document at the rate of dozens of words per minute, I would not trade the process of keeping a handwritten journal for any digital-based alternative. But that’s just me. You may very well prefer a cloud-based journal, which is totally fine.

There is no right or wrong way to journal. It is an individual thing.

A bonus benefit from journaling

If you choose to focus on improving your handwriting as you journal then that will naturally become a wonderful bonus benefit from the habit. My handwriting was horrid in my late teens. Finally, I resolved to do something about it and my method of practice and improvement became my journal writing.

I’m no handwriting analyst, but I have learned that the quality of my handwriting was frequently correlated with my state of mind and emotions at the time that I was writing.

Had I not kept up a frequent handwritten journaling habit I am confident that my handwriting would be very disturbing to look at and difficult to read!

Ro’s recommendations

• If you haven’t consistently kept a journal, complete The 7 x 7 Experiement.
• If you have been keeping a journal, post your comments below about how doing so has benefited you in your personal and business life.
• If you haven’t written in your journal in awhile, get it right now and take a few minutes to write about what is on your mind and what is important to you at this point in your life.

Feel free to share your comments, ideas or questions below. You can also subscribe to receive my articles by email and follow me on Twitter.

Until next time,
Namaste (नमस्ते)